Wirehouse advisers with $249M in AUM open new office for Stifel

Stifel snapped up two wirehouse advisers who managed $249 million in combined client assets, the firm said.

Advisers Randy Powers and Daniel Wright joined Stifel from Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, respectively. They opened a new office for the brokerage firm in Skaneateles, New York, making it the 12th office in the state, according to a spokesman.

Powers will serve as branch manager and senior vice president of investments for the new office, Stifel said.

“I explored many firms but ultimately joined Stifel for its world-class research capabilities, direct access to senior management and true entrepreneurial spirit,” commented Powers on his decision to join Stifel.

He said that more “top advisers” in upstate New York have become familiar with the Stifel name since the firm opened its Rochester office in 2014. After Skaneateles, the company is aiming to expand into Syracuse and other cities, Powers said.

Powers spent seven years at Morgan Stanley, where he oversaw over $208 million in client assets, according to Stifel. Prior to joining the wirehouse, he worked for 13 years at A.G. Edwards and six at MML Investor Services, where he started his career in financial services, FINRA BrokerCheck records show.

Wright moved to Stifel after seven years at Wells Fargo, where he managed over $41 million in client assets, a spokesman said. Like Powers, he also worked at A.G. Edwards and got his start in the industry there in 2007. He moved to Morgan Stanley in 2008, and then to Wells Fargo in 2009, according to BrokerCheck.

The St. Louis-based Stifel has been recruiting aggressively from wirehouses lately. Two weeks ago it hired away another Wells Fargo adviser with $289 million in AUM. In the last two months alone, the firm brought on seven new advisers.

The company also announced in September that it is acquiring City Financial, a firm with 40 private client advisers overseeing about $4 billion in assets.

Spokeswomen from Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo declined to comment on the departures of Powers and Wright.